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Satsang at Ananda Kutir Ashrama

By Ananda Kutir Ashrama https://anandakutir.org.za/

Sat Mar 13, 17:00 - Sat Mar 13, 19:00

Ananda Kutir Ashrama

ABOUT

Satsang is a Sanskrit term derived from two roots: sat meaning "truth" and sanga meaning "community", "company" or "association". Hence satsang means "being in the company of truth". It refers to the act of gathering with like-minded seekers.


Satsang includes prayers, kirtans (devotional singing), readings or a discourse, arati and partaking of prasad. Our revered Gurudev, Sri Swami Sivanandaji, was instrumental in reviving the practice of satsang across the globe and scarcely missed daily satsang at his ashrama.


Ananda Kutir Ashrama lovingly invites you to partake in weekly satsang with fellow seekers and friends of the ashrama on Saturday evenings.


While attendance is free, bookings are required in advance as attendee capacity has been reduced to accommodate lockdown guidelines. Please see full guidelines on adjacent tab.

GUIDELINES FOR SATSANG

All attendees are respectfully asked to follow the guidelines below.  These are in line with government directions to address and prevent the spread of Covid-19:
 
Attendance:
  • All gatherings will be held in the main Yoga room. 
  • Numbers are limited to 11 people (including residents of the ashrama) so as to ensure the prescribed 1.5m distance between attendees.
  • Please bring:
    • A cushion to sit on.
    • A blanket for additional comfort and warmth if needed.
    • Your mask.
    • A small bottle of your own sanitiser if you prefer.
    • A song book for Satsangs.  If you don’t have your own, you are most welcome to borrow one from the ashrama during lockdown.
    • Since the ashrama instruments can only be played by ashramites, musicians will need to bring their own instruments. 
  • We ask that you sanitise all your belongings before bringing them to the ashrama.
 
 
Online Booking:
  • To attend satsangs, meditation sessions, workshops, and talks, you will need to pre-book online.  This can be done via the ashrama’s website. 
  • Please note that bookings open 1 week prior to each satsang whilst the previous satsang is in progress.  This will allow those who could not get a booking to secure a place for the following week. 
  • Bookings for satsang will close 2 hours prior to the start of satsang, so as to avoid late-comers.
  • Attendees will be prompted to enter their contact details online and will need to sign an indemnity form. 
  • We respectfully ask that you honour your booking, given that not everyone can be accommodated under the government’s current venue restrictions. 
 
Payments and Donations:
  • When booking for an activity that attracts a charge, please make the payment electronically and note that the payment will be non-refundable.  Of course, this policy will be reviewed as soon as the restrictions on numbers are lifted.
  • If you wish to make a donation, the ashrama can only accept electronic donations. 
  • For those who usually make cash donations during satsangs, we ask that you do this electronically when pre-booking as donations can currently not be placed in the aarati tray.
 
Screening:
  • Everyone entering the ashrama will need to have their temperature taken and will be screened for symptoms associated with Covid-19.  These include fever, cough, sore throat, shortness of breath, difficulty in breathing, malaise, body aches, loss of smell, loss of taste, nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, fatigue, and weakness or tiredness.
  • Anyone with an elevated temperature or with Covid-19 symptoms will not be permitted to enter.
  • To prevent a rushed approach, attendees will need to arrive 15 minutes earlier to allow enough time for screening and will also need to adhere to the markers indicated for queueing purposes.
  • No late-comers will be allowed entry.
 
Displaying symptoms whilst at the Ashrama:
  • Should you experience an onset of any of the symptoms listed above, please inform the spiritual head.  For obvious reasons, you will need to leave the gathering and, if needed, we will provide immediate isolation, assist with transport or testing arrangements and generally assist in a way that does not place others or yourself at risk. 
  • Should anyone attending the ashrama test positive for Covid-19, please immediately inform the ashrama, noting all activities attended 10 days prior to your test.  You will also not be able to visit the ashrama for 10 days from the date of receiving the positive test result.
 
Masks and Social Distancing:
  • Please wear your mask at all times.  The wearing of face masks is compulsory for the full duration of any religious activity such as satsang, meditation and includes workshops and talks.
  • Note that kirtan (singing) will be done with masks on. 
  • Where the person leading the gathering cannot wear a mask for a specific part of satsang as an example, the speaker will do so with a distance of 2.5 metres from the nearest attendees.
  • Please maintain a distance of at least 1.5 metres from another at all times. 
  • While physical contact like handshaking and hugging is not possible, one can greet the Divine within the other with palms in the prayer position. 
  • Please know that no rituals involving personal contact will be performed.
  • Seating will be set up in a way that it is compliant with social distancing regulations.
 
Sanitising:
  • Please sanitise your belongings at home before bringing these to the ashrama.
  • The Yoga room will be sanitised before and after all gatherings.
  • You will find sufficient quantities of hand sanitiser, containing the minimum requirement of 70% alcohol, at the entrance, in the toilets and at various locations in the Yoga room. 
  • Soap and water will also be available in the bathroom and at the entrance for those who prefer this to sanitiser.
  • Paper towels will be available for use and are to be disposed of in the bins provided.
  • All surfaces that residents, attendees and visitors come into contact with will be routinely cleaned and disinfected before the resumption of activities, in-between activities, and after use. 
  • All areas like toilets, common areas, door handles, window latches, shared equipment, shared electronic equipment, etc will be regularly cleaned & sanitised.
  • Our facilities will be cleaned throughout the day, on a rotational basis, by trained cleaning staff and/or volunteers using chemicals with antiviral properties.
  • Our gatherings will not run one after the other and where a Hatha Yoga class precedes satsang, a 30 minute window has been provided for cleaning and sanitising, before the arrival of satsang attendees.  We ask that no-one enter the Yoga room before this has been completed.
 
Added Personal Protection
  • Please sanitise your hands before and after handling offerings or gifts.
  • Since no food or liquid may be shared between people, prasad will be provided by the ashrama only and will be prepacked and handed to attendees before they leave.  Devotees who wish to offer prasad are requested to prepack the prasad into 11 individual packets.
  • During satsang, aarati will be performed by ashramites only. The ashramite offering aarati will spread the light to all devotees but will not go to them individually.  Sacred ash will also not be used at the end of satsangs. 
  • The ashrama will be well ventilated while in use as well as for a significant amount of time before and after use.  While the ashrama does not make use of air conditioning, our fans will be turned on during summer, as and when needed.  
 
The ashrama’s harmonious atmosphere is most valued and we would not like for this to be disturbed by Covid-19 protocols.  To ensure a peaceful atmosphere for all, should you at any time be unhappy with someone else’s actions, please do not confront the person directly.  We ask instead that you approach the spiritual head so that the matter can be addressed in a more suitable manner.
 
We thank you for adhering to these guidelines.  It is important for us that the health and safety of all who attend the ashrama is not compromised.

DIRECTIONS

Satsang at Ananda Kutir Ashrama
Ananda Kutir Ashrama
24 Sprigg Rd, Rondebosch East, Cape Town, 7780
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